Do REM (lucid) dreamed and executed actions share the same neural substrate?

This paper addresses the correlation of dreamed and actual actions. This issue is related to the theory of neural simulation of action. The simulation theory postulates that, in general, covert actions are actual actions relying on the same brain regions, except for the fact that they are not executed. By reviewing studies conducted in the field of dream and lucid dream research on REM sleep it will be shown that correlations between dreamed and actual actions can be found for central nervous activity, autonomic responses and time aspects. Recent findings from research on lucid dreaming and motor learning further support the notion that actions in dreams are represented on higher cognitive levels - equivalent to actual movements - and therefore share, to some extent, the same central structures. The reviewed findings will be discussed and future directions will be given

Nightmares, chronotype, urbanicity, and personality: an online study

Chronotype refers to individual differences in sleep timing (“owls” and “larks”) and “eveningness” has been associated with nightmares. However, it has not been tested as to whether neuroticism mediates this relationship. Urbanicity refers to being raised in an urban region and/or currently living in an urban region and is associated with heightened risk for developing mental disorders, and thus might be related to nightmare frequency and nightmare distress. Overall, 2492 persons (1437 women, 1055 men) completed an online survey between 23 March 2015 and 8 April 2015. The mean age of the sample was 47.75 ± 14.41 years. The findings indicate that the previously reported relationship between chronotype and nightmare frequency was mediated by neuroticism and “morningness” was related to higher dream recall compared to persons with a late bedtime preference. Urbanicity was not related to nightmare frequency but to lower nightmare distress, raising the interesting question as to whether beliefs about nightmares might be an important variable that contributes to nightmare distress. Based on the few studies so far, there are still many unresolved questions about the interaction between nightmares, chronotype, and urbanicity

Lucid dreaming and personality in children/adolescents and adults: The UK library study

Research that has focused on the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions and lucid dreaming frequency has been restricted to student samples. The present study included adolescents and adults (N = 1375). i.e., the sample included a large range of ages. Lucid dreaming was more strongly related to openness to experiences compared to previous findings. The small but significant negative correlation between conscientiousness and lucid dreaming should be followed up by studies relating the Big Five personality factors to the contents of lucid dreams

Induction of lucid dreams: A systematic review of evidence

In lucid dreams the dreamer is aware of dreaming and often able to influence the ongoing dream content. Lucid dreaming is a learnable skill and a variety of techniques is suggested for lucid dreaming induction. This systematic review evaluated the evidence for the effectiveness of induction techniques. A comprehensive literature search was carried out in biomedical databases and specific resources. Thirty-five studies were included in the analysis (11 sleep laboratory and 24 field studies), of which 26 employed cognitive techniques, 11 external stimulation and one drug application. The methodological quality of the included studies was relatively low. None of the induction techniques were verified to induce lucid dreams reliably and consistently, although some of them look promising. On the basis of the reviewed studies, a taxonomy of lucid dream induction methods is presented. Several methodological issues are discussed and further directions for future studies are proposed

Psychische Belastung der Eltern von Patienten der Institutsambulanz für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie der Klinik St. Elisabeth in Neuburg an der Donau

Ziel und Gegenstand der Untersuchung Im Bereich der Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie gibt es viele Hinweise darauf, dass sich die psychische Belastung von Bezugspersonen auf die Symptomatik der behandelten Patienten auswirkt. Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung war die Erfassung der psychischen Belastung von Eltern, die ihre Kinder in einer kinder- und jugendpsychiatrischen Institutsambulanz vorstellen. Sekundär sollte untersucht werden, ob eine ambulante Diagnostik zu einer Veränderung dieser Belastung führt. Methoden In einer naturalistischen Studie wurden die Bezugspersonen von 100 Patienten einer kinder- und jugendpsychiatrischen Institutsambulanz befragt. Sowohl zu Beginn als auch am Ende einer erstmaligen ambulanten Diagnostikphase wurde mittels eines standardisierten Selbstbeurteilungs-Fragebogens (SCL-90-S) die psychische Belastung der Bezugspersonen erhoben. Zusätzliche Informationen wurden mit nicht-standardisierten Fragbögen von den Studienteilnehmern sowie den Behandlern erfragt. Ergebnisse Die Bezugspersonen der Patienten wiesen keine signifikant höhere psychische Belastung als die Normierungsstichprobe des verwendeten Tests auf. Dennoch konnte eine geringfügige, aber signifikante Reduktion der psychischen Belastung zwischen den beiden Zeitpunkten festgestellt werden. Die Belastung der vorgestellten Kinder wurde zum Ende der Diagnostik von Bezugspersonen wie auch Behandlern höher eingeschätzt als zu Beginn

Gender differences in dreaming in childhood and adolescence: the UK Library study

This study evaluates gender differences in dream recall frequency, dream sharing frequency, dream listening frequency and nightmare frequency in childhood and adolescence. The sample included 3534 children for the ages from 6 to 18 who completed a brief questionnaire distributed in libraries. We were able to show that overall girls recalled dreams more often, shared dreams more often, listened more often to dreams and reported higher nightmare frequency than boys. For dream sharing frequency and dream listening frequency gender differences increased significantly with age indicating that gender-specific dream socialization might be probable. As this effect was most prominent for adolescents of 13 years and older, one might speculate that the peer group – especially same-sex friendships play an important role in dream socialization. Dream listening is still a very young field of research and longitudinal studies are necessary to study when gender differences in dreaming emerge and whether this processes effect dream recall frequency and other dream variables in adults

Dreaming and personality: Wake-dream continuity, thought suppression, and the Big Five Inventory

Studies have found relationships between dream content and personality traits, but there are still many traits that have been underexplored or have had questionable conclusions drawn about them. Experimental work has found a ‘rebound’ effect in dreams when thoughts are suppressed prior to sleep, but the effect of trait thought suppression on dream content has not yet been researched. In the present study participants (N = 106) reported their Most Recent Dream, answered questions about the content of the dream, and completed questionnaires measuring trait thought suppression and the ‘Big Five’ personality traits. Of these, 83 were suitably recent for analyses. A significant positive correlation was found between trait thought suppression and participants’ ratings of dreaming of waking-life emotions, and high suppressors reported dreaming more of their waking-life emotions than low suppressors did. The results may lend support to the compensation theory of dreams, and/or the ironic process theory of mental control